1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more specifically, to remote controls for bronchoscopy navigation systems.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A common interventional procedure in the field of pulmonary medicine is bronchoscopy, in which a bronchoscope is inserted into the airways through the patient's nose or mouth. The structure of a bronchoscope generally includes a long, thin, flexible tube that typically contains three elements: an illumination assembly for illuminating the region distal to the bronchoscope's tip via an optical fiber connected to an external light source; an imaging assembly for delivering back a video image from the bronchoscope's distal tip; and a lumen or working channel through which instruments may be inserted, including but not limited to placement (e.g., guide wires), diagnostic (e.g., biopsy tools) and therapeutic (e.g., treatment catheters or laser, cryogenic, radio frequency, or microwave tissue treatment probes) instruments. The distal tip of a bronchoscope is steerable. Rotating a lever placed at the handle of the bronchoscope actuates a steering mechanism that deflects the tip in one or more directions.
Bronchoscopies are performed by pulmonologists, also known as bronchoscopists, and are used routinely in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as lung cancer, airway stenosis, and emphysema. Bronchoscopies are typically performed by a staff of at least two persons: the bronchoscopist and at least one assistant, usually a nurse. During a typical procedure, the bronchoscopist holds the bronchoscope handle with one hand and the bronchoscope tube with the other hand. The bronchoscopist guides the distal tip of the bronchoscope and/or other instruments by manipulating a proximal end of the bronchoscope tube or the other instruments.
During insertion and operation of the instruments, images from the bronchoscope and/or other instruments may be viewed by the bronchoscopist on display devices. The settings of the display devices and/or the images on the display devices may be manipulated by user interfaces of the display devices. To operate the user interfaces the clinician must remove one hand from the bronchoscope or have an assistant manipulate the user interface. However, the bronchoscope needs to be held steady during insertion and manipulation. Two hands are typically needed to hold the bronchoscope steady.
These difficulties are exacerbated when tools are passed through the working channel of the bronchoscope. For example, when inserting biopsy tools or using the navigation systems such as the EDGE™ and SUPERDIMENSION™ navigation catheters currently sold by Covidien LP. Indeed these additional tools require one hand just for their manipulation. Accordingly, manipulation of a bronchoscope and such an additional tool requires a second person, particularly to simultaneously manipulate the user interface.
Performing a procedure that requires two people is generally more expensive and the potential for error is increased. Hence, it is desirable to modify a procedure so that it may be performed with one or two hands, if possible.